If you’ve been running a clinic or hospital for a while now (or even managing a specific department), the idea of facing difficult patients and clients probably isn’t new to you.
From patients who ditch medical check-ups at the last minute because of their fear of needles to those who refuse to comply with post-operative procedures, trouble can come in various forms. In fact, over time, you may have seen your fair share of different hurdles and unique predicaments, both big and small, which all have taught you to manage better.
A unique predicament
Among the different situations that you can face throughout your medical management career, one of the most unique challenges you’ll encounter is dealing with patients who are scared of MRI and CT scans.
Admittedly, the way medical imaging machines are built, how they sound, and how they look can instill a certain fear that puts off even the most seasoned of patients. In the case of those who have claustrophobia (or don’t even know it yet), convincing them to have them go through a tiny hole will bear an understandable level of difficulty to some extent.
Although you may be familiar with the fact that both MRI and CT scans are less frightening than regular patients assume, it can be rather difficult to have reluctant patients believe the same thing. Sometimes, this same level of fear can even reach the point where a client will have a life-threatening condition that needs to be scanned and examined for further treatment and still try to avoid medical imaging!
Valuable tips that you can use to put your patients at ease
At this point, you may be wondering about what you can do to put your patients at ease as you prepare them for an MRI or CT scan that they will need to undergo. If you find yourself in such a situation, here are a few tips that you can use to put your reluctant patients at ease:
Tip #1: Give them a run-through of the process
When it comes to dealing with a patient who outright refuses to undergo the process of diagnostic imaging, it’s best to ensure that you provide them a run-through of what they can expect during an MRI or CT scan. It may not necessarily seem like much at first, but doing this act of care will go a long way towards easing any underlying anxieties well enough to have a more willing patient in due time!
Tip #2: Invest in professional tools or upgrade that can help lighten up the experience
Another effective way to deal with reluctant patients who are simply fearful of going through the process at hand is to invest in professional tools that can enhance the scanning experience.
Through the help of different tools, such as ambient experience technology and lighting set-ups (such as those available at Direct Med Parts), you can ease any reluctance and ensure that your patients are ready to get scanned. Although such upgrades bear additional costs, investing in them will lead to a significant ROI as it becomes easier to urge more patients to get their MRI and CT scans done!
Conclusion
When dealing with a patient who is afraid to undergo a medical imaging session, it’s important to note that there are a few different practices and methods that can help ease things. Through the help of the key pointers mentioned above, you can make any patient ease up well enough, so they settle down and pull through with a session that they definitely need!
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